Can Tatum be the next face of NBA? Perry and Washburn weigh in
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Can Tatum be the next face of NBA? Perry and Washburn weigh in originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Jayson Tatum knows there’s one obstacle in his way as he looks to reach the next level of superstardom.
During NBA All-Star Weekend, Tatum was asked whether he believes he can be the next face of the league when LeBron James retires. The Boston Celtics star shared a well-thought-out, confident response while acknowledging the lack of a championship on his résumé.
“Absolutely,” Tatum said. “And I think the league is in a great place right now, the amount of high-character guys, the amount of talent throughout the NBA. The fact that LeBron, [Kevin Durant] and Steph [Curry] are still considered one of the best 10 players in the league right now at their age and how long they’ve been playing is incredible. As well as all the younger guys, whether it’s guys my age or the guys a little bit older, with [Nikola Jokic] and Giannis [Antetokounmpo], or guys younger than me.
“So I think the league is in a great place. When LeBron retires, the face of the league, that’s tough. But we win a championship, I’ve got something to say about it, I know that.”
One could argue Tatum is currently a top-five player in the NBA. He’s the best player on the best team record-wise so far this season. But until the 25-year-old gets over that championship hurdle, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe agrees the “face of basketball” label will belong to someone else.
“I think Tatum has a chance. But like Tatum said, people are judging him based on the ’22 Finals because he did not play well,” Washburn said on Monday’s episode of Arbella Early Edition. “They’re judging him on, ‘You’ve been to all these Eastern Conference finals, you’ve never won a championship. When are you and Jaylen (Brown) going to win a championship?’
“So he’s right. To get the monkey off his back, he’s going to have to win a title to be the face of the league because eventually, whenever that happens, LeBron is…
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